L.A. Weekly Has a Big Opportunity for the Cannabis Industry

Today AdCellerant and Voice Media Group, L.A. Weekly's parent company, announce the launch of their programmatic advertising network for businesses in the cannabis industry. This new service will allow marijuana entrepreneurs to market themselves more effectively on the Internet through programmatic display advertising. AdCellerant will work with Voice Media Group and cannabis businesses in all legal states to promote their products, services and brands — a revolutionary development given that most digital advertising agencies will not work with marijuana businesses because of federal regulations.

“We are excited to bring to market an advertising solution that has been around for years for small businesses, yet has been out of reach for cannabis clients up until this point,” said Scott Tobias, CEO of Voice Media Group. “AdCellerant and Voice Media Group’s launch into this space represents our commitment to providing the best digital advertising solutions for small and medium-sized businesses across many different industries.”

Brock Berry, co-founder and CEO of AdCellerant, said, “Many of our local media partners already work with cannabis businesses on their print advertising strategy. Now our partners will be able to offer their cannabis clients one of the most effective advertising solutions, programmatic display advertising.”

AdCellerant and Voice Media Group have tested the marijuana network extensively with Green Solutions, All Greens, Bloom Dispensary and more than 30 similar companies. Results from beta campaigns on AdCellerant’s cannabis network show ad-engagement levels two to three times normal banner campaigns. The advertising network does not allow visual displays of products or the use of the word “marijuana,” and all advertisements are targeted to users 21 years of age and older.

With a state-estimated 935 dispensaries in the city of Los Angeles alone, Southern California is America's urban capital of retail cannabis. If recreational legalization passes in November under the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), one widely touted report estimates that legit Golden State cannabis revenues could eventually more than double to $6.6 billion.